1630: A Mayflower Pilgrim Becomes the First Man Hanged in the New World Colonies
John Billington had been a troublemaker since the Mayflower crossing, defying Myles Standish and drawing accusations in a colony revolt, always insisting he was innocent. Read more →
1805: “I Have Killed Biddy, and Am Going to Deliver Myself Up”: A Hawkesbury Murderer Hanged at Sydney
William Miller, a labourer at Hawkesbury near Sydney, attacked Bridget Horan (also recorded as Kean) with a hoe on the afternoon of 18 September 1805. Read more →
1845: She Watched Her Friend Killed and Waited for the Killers: A Woman Hanged at Hobart
Eliza Benwell was housemaid at an inn in New Norfolk, near Hobart, where fellow servant Jane Saunders worked alongside her. Read more →
1852: Timothy Sullivan Cried “Robbers, Robbers” While Beating an Old Shepherd to Death
Timothy Sullivan lived with an elderly shepherd named Daniel Harrington at King’s Plains, near Carcoar in the Bathurst district. Read more →
1852: He Only Aimed for the Knees: John Newing Hanged for Murder Anyway
In October 1851, at a shearers’ hut on a station on the Castlereagh, a Chinese labourer named John Newing burst in armed with a shear blade lashed to a pole and stabbed a fellow countryman, Hing, in the groin. Read more →
1861: He Wept After Being Punched, Then Fetched a Hammer: a Melbourne Racing-Yard Killing
Martin Rice was a former steeplechase jockey with a reputation for violence when he picked a fight with Anthony Green, a well-known horse trainer, over the shoeing of a horse at Kirk’s Bazaar off Bourke Street in Melbourne. Read more →
1888: The Double Event: Jack the Ripper Kills Twice in One Night in London
In the early hours, the killer known as Jack the Ripper struck twice within the same hour. Read more →
1901: He Sharpened His Knife for Days: A Jealous Rockhampton Murder Ends on the Gallows at Brisbane
John Rheuben had lived with Fanny Hardwick for two years, supporting her mother and child, until he turned her out and she took up with another man. Read more →
